Missing Ingredient
by Felinis
Summary: He always buys his mutton, but is there more?


"Mutton! Fresh mutton!"

The vendor calls from his stall gesturing his fresh cut slabs of mutton. They're beautiful marbled pieces of meat that he takes great care in cutting. Alas no matter how often he calls nobody ever pays more than a glance. Mutton is out of style apparently! Fools! Mutton is glorious and the greatest of any meats. But, the foolish masses care not for his mutton. He sighs and as the last strips of sun dip. Another day another case of unsold mutton.

"Excuse me, I would like the finest cut of mutton you have." He looks up to see a man with blond hair and a chef's hat.

"You want my mutton?"

The blond man smiles. "Well, yes. Nobody else is selling this fine meat!"

The vendor feels his heart flutter. "Let me get you some." He starts wrapping some pieces after carefully debating which piece is best. "Here." He hands over the meat the blonde man looks ecstatic.

"Excellent! I've been working on a new recipe, but nobody was selling mutton. How much do I owe you?"

The vendor flushes happily; he rarely gets customers like this. "That'll be thirty gald." The coins clank in his hands and he pockets them away. The next day the chef is back asking for more mutton and like yesterday he smiles. He sees the chef repeatedly and finally he asks the man's name.

"Oh, I'm the glorious Wonder Chef! Lover of all things culinary!" Wonder Chef puffs his chest out proudly. "And what's your name?"

"Me, I'm just the mutton man."

Wonder Chef hums. "I see. Well, mutton man you should could come to my restaurant to try my things. I've almost finished my mutton recipe."

"That sounds nice, but I'm not for restaurants." The Wonder Chef pays for his meat and walks off waving goodbye. It becomes a ritual; Wonder Chef comes by to talk with him about cooking and by his meat. Spices to go with his mutton and the proper way to sear. Wine pairing and best sides to place with it. His favorite is listening to Wonder Chef discuss the best cheese plates and artisan breads.

He's listening as Wonder Chef discusses the best use for each her alphabetically. His lecture on paprika is wonderful and he almost ignores a customer because of how invested he is. "So… I was thinking… you should come by my restaurant finally. I'd love you to try my food."

He agrees nervously. "No thanks."

The Wonder Chef's face falls. "Alright."

The next day Wonder Chef comes by with a tray of croquettes. "It's a gift." He gets a lot of gifts over the next few days. The Wonder Chef is constantly bringing him fresh made extravagant lunches. It's delicious and he can only say so when the Wonder Chef asks him how it tastes. He gets sick at some point from standing out in the rain too long attempting to sell fresh mutton. All he can do is sleep in bed as his fever passes. When he gets back Wonder Chef is standing cross at his stand. "Where were you?"

"Sorry." He sniffles. "I got sick, but I'm back to being about myself."

Wonder Chef hums. "I see." He runs off and comes back hours later with a thing of soup. "Here. It's my special chicken soup. Best thing for a cold." It's delicious like always and Wonder Chef doesn't smile like he usually will at the praise. His face turns a little red and he turns down his eyes. "T-thanks." He's never been praised for his compliments so it's a surprise.

"Have you still not perfected your mutton recipe?" They've known each other a few months and the chef still claims his recipe is incomplete.

"You can't rush art!" Wonder Chef blurts pink dusting his cheeks. Wonder Chef seems to be blushing a lot lately. It's weeks of casual conversation before Wonder Chef offers to make him dinner. He says yes and the blonde is a bit too giddy.

They decide to make it a picnic date and when he arrives there are two glasses of wine, candles, and roses. Lots of lovely red roses with plump petals. Two plates sit on the blanket… mutton… Savory mutton. It almost feels like a date when he sits down across from the Wonder Chef. For once the man is not in a chef uniform, but a casual suit. "I hope you enjoy."

"Gorgeous." He blurts and the Chef turns red. "The food looks gorgeous."

"Th-thanks you."

It's not awkward, but they are silent as they eat. It's as Wonder Chef attempts small talk that it finally hits him. This is a date! A real date. His cheeks flush and suddenly all the lunches make sense. What should he say? It's not that he doesn't like Wonder Chef! He's, for a lack of a better word, wonderful! And no other man has ever appreciated his meat like this chef, but this might be a bit fast. Or maybe it's too slow…

"Mutton man?" A chaste kiss on the chef's cheek just to see how it feels. The two of them are both red as the flesh of a slab of fresh cut mutton. So he kisses again.

"I think your recipe was missing love."


End file.
